My favorite Christmas present
Written: Jan 08 '01
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Great "sound" investment
Cons: AM loop antenna seems to not pick up great reception
|
|
|
| mcathell's Full Review: Aiwa NSX-HMT76 Digital Mini Theater System |
The Aiwa NSX-HMT76 was given to me as a Christmas gift, and I must say that it has been one of most enjoyable I've received in recent memory. For a home system, the NSX-HMT76 has a truly wonderful sound. When I first set up the stereo, I popped in a Pearl Jam album, a Rachmaninoff symphony, and a Ben Folds Five CD. I thought that these selections would give the system a chance to show off its stuff with different types of music, and did they ever! The subwoofer provided a perfect amount of bass to blend with rich vocal tones. Live-recorded tracks sounded just that -- live! The system was able to express the wide dynamic range of orchestral music absolutely beautifully. In the past few weeks, I've thrown all my favorite CDs in the NSX-HMT76, and it has been like hearing them for the first time again.
I have attached a laptop computer to the NSX-HMT76 to play some MP3 files. The sound of these files is noticeably less than CD-quality, although I never fully realized that until I had this nice stereo to listen to. The MP3s just aren't made to be listened to with Dolby Pro Logic sound, but I have found that they can still sound very nice using the system's own DSP Surround modes. Treble and bass can be adjusted using the BBE and Super T-Bass controls, along with the equalizer.
If you're still watching movies and TV programs using the speakers built into your television set, it's time to stop NOW! It is amazing what a different experience it is to watch a movie with a quality sound system. The NSX-HMT76 provides a nice immersive experience, especially if you are able to set your surround speakers at a good location to fill your room with ambient sound. Many of today’s computer programs also feature Dolby Surround sound. Playing a game with surround sound using a quality stereo system is almost a completely different experience than using tinny computer speakers. Playing a game of “Aliens versus Predator” with the sound coming from my NSX-HMT76 just about scares me silly! There are plenty of input/output jacks on the back of the system, so you should have no trouble attaching your TV/VCR/DVD equipment, along with your computer.
The box of the system is rather bulky and VERY heavy. When purchasing the NSX-HMT76, plan on asking for help carrying it! My mother said she almost couldn't get the thing inside the house to wrap it up when she got home, and eventually opened the outside box and carried each component inside individually. My father an I initially tried to carry the whole thing up to my room, but found that the box was too wide and got caught on the stairway railing halfway up, knocking a couple of pictures off the wall! It’s really not that the system is over packaged, it’s just that there’s a LOT of stuff in there!
The unit itself looks quite attractive. It has a nice bright display, which looks good and “high-tech,” without going overboard and looking cheesy. The unit has power-saving features that allow its lights to be dimmed, if desired. When turned off, the display can show the time (the system can be set to come on at a specific time, so I use it as an alarm clock). I have been exceptionally pleased with the NSX-HMT76, and have really not run into any deficiencies or faults in the unit. For the price range of this system, it really is an excellent choice.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
mcathell
|
|
Member: Matthew
Location: Frostburg, MD / Philadelphia, PA
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.